EDITORIAL ‘Reefer Madness’ Goes Mainstream Maybe when marijuana vendors appear at Disney World, or when the venerable theme park comes up with a Marijuana Mile theme ride, or maybe Marijuana Maelstrom. Then, perhaps, the Village of Cooperstown – “the pinnacle” of youth baseball camps, according to Lunetta Swartout, Cooperstown Stays proprietor, (and she ought to know) – should approve pot shops, or a “recreational cannabis dispensary,” or whatever, along Main Street in Baseball’s Mecca. Maybe then, but now the debate…
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Opinion - Page 138
HOMETOWN HISTORY April 1, 2021 Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library 135 Years Ago The report of the Wilber National Bank of Oneonta gives some idea of the immense business interests which it represents. The surplus of $92,500 gives evidence of its financial prosperity and soundness, and its nearly $280,000 of deposit certificates (at three percent we suppose) shows a large amount of capital in the country which finds no desirable…
LETTER from RICHARD STERNBERG A&D, OPT, Other Transportation Services Step Up I and multitudes of people, from the President of the United States on down, have tried to convince people to get vaccinated when they are eligible, and to maintain basic public health precautions; wearing masks properly, washing hands and surfaces frequently, and maintaining social distance. Only about 60 percent of the adult population has followed these recommendations and a similar percent say they will get vaccinated. If this continues,…
LETTER from JIM HOWARTH Accelerating Brain Drain Cuomo’s Greatest Failing To the Editor: Speculation and opinions on Andrew Cuomo’s need to resign have been frequent topics in this newspaper. While the allegations of the Governor’s sexual abuses, as well as his COVID-19 policies, have been horrible, they are just that – allegations. Guilt and culpability need substantive proof. I believe the facts will come to light in the Attorney General’s investigation and provide direction for the Governor’s future. One facet…
EDITORIAL Otsego Electric’s Broadband: Entrepreneurism At Its Best Otsego Electric’s Broadband initiative wasn’t mentioned in last week’s editorial on entrepreneurism in arts organizations – it’s an electric cooperative, not a dance troupe. Still, it’s worth a separate nod. While local governments and the citizenry at large were crying out to Albany and Washington for universal Broadband, CEO Tim Johnson and the Hartwick-based, non-profit rural-electrification entity simply did it. As reported last week, in the past three years, Otsego Electric has…
ALBERT COLONE RECOUNTS FAMILY’S STORY COVID? It Could Have Been Worse Editor’s Note: The COVID-19 pandemic has Albert Colone, founding president of the former National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, musing about the immigrant experience, when times were REALLY tough. This is the first of two columns on the immigrant experience of his grandparents, Frank and Lucia (Valentini) Colone. COVID-19, which hit America hard starting in early 2020, turned our worlds upside down. I haven’t been able to hug…
LETTER from DEB DALTON Program Instructed Us On Racism To the Editor: One of the joys of living in our part of Upstate New York is the ability to recognize and appreciate some individuals who truly make our world better, and who, in a larger populated area, might go unnoticed. In this particular case, I would like to thank and congratulate Liane Hirabayashi and Lynne Mebust for the success of the “Looking in the Mirror: Cooperstown Reflects on Racism” programming…
LETTER from DANNY LAPIN Voting Lets Citizens Hire Best Leadership Editor’s Note: Danny Lapin, D-Oneonta, is retiring from the county board to focus on chairing the city Planning Commission, and to share his reflections on development and environmentalism through his blog, (accessible by Googling “danny lapin blog”.) This is an excerpt to his introduction to the blog. One of my best friends in graduate school lovingly coined the topic of local government the “most important thing nobody cares about.” This…
LETTER from DAN BUTTERMANN ‘Dazzling’ Green Energy Best Bet On The Future For New York’s Citizens To the Editor: The next New York State budget is on its way to passage, and with the federal stimulus of $12.6 billion it will not be as bad as projected. But there are still many problems ahead. Our state had a budget deficit before the pandemic, and a declining population, which the census will likely confirm later this year. We must look for…
BOUND VOLUMES March 25, 2021 Compiled by Tom Heitz/SHARON STUART, with resources courtesy of The Fenimore Art Museum Research Library 210 YEARS AGO Mrs. Martha P. Graham’s recipe for a crimson dye – To two gallons of poke berries, when they are quite ripe, add half a gallon of strong vinegar, made of the wild crab apple, to dye one pound of wool, which must be first washed very clean with hard soap. The wool, when wrung dry, is to…
